The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Liu Changchun, the director of the power supply bureau, received a call from Huang Ming, who said that Chen Shi, the deputy director of the Fushan Town Police Station, wanted to invite him to dinner.

He was momentarily stunned. He was completely unfamiliar with this Chen Shi and had never even met him before. But when he learned that Qin Jiang, the director of the Fushan Town Power Management Office, was also there, he understood everything.

Qin Jiang wanted to be transferred back to the power supply bureau. His wife and children were in the county town, and Fushan Town was too far from the county town. Living apart from his wife and children would make it difficult for him to take care of them.

He asked someone to approach Liu Changchun, but the person wasn't influential enough, so he refused without hesitation.

There are limited leadership positions in the power supply bureau. The directors of power stations in remote townships all have their own difficulties and want to be transferred back. There's no room for them all.

People are needed in remote towns and villages too; we can't transfer them all back to the county.

But Huang Ming had to be given face when he made the call; after all, he was Liu County's trusted liaison.

He can't accomplish anything, he can definitely ruin things.

He had never met Chen Shi, but he had heard of his reputation. He was a person appreciated by County Liu and had even eaten with County Liu at the government canteen. He was a deputy director at a young age, and his future career path would be at least at the level of a section chief.

As for Qin Jiang, his subordinate, he didn't take him seriously.

When someone invites you to dinner, you should always understand why they are inviting you, especially if it's someone you don't know well.

As the old saying goes, you can't just say whatever you want, but you can eat whatever you want. However, within the system, you can't just eat whatever you want either.

After figuring this out, Liu Changchun readily agreed to Huang Ming's request to attend the dinner the following evening.

On Saturday afternoon, Chen Shi drove to the county town. As usual, he first went to the Heaven on Earth sauna to relax his tired body.

The dinner was scheduled for seven o'clock, but Qin Jiang called at six o'clock to ask where Chen Shi was.

Chen Shi asked him to come to Heaven on Earth.

Qin Jiang drove his private car to the Heavenly Human Interchange to deliver Chen Shi.

Chen Shi didn't want to drive around in a police car; it was too conspicuous. He believed in keeping a low profile.

When Qin Jiang saw Chen Shi come out, he quickly got out of the car and greeted him with a smile.

"Chen Suo"

"Qin Suo"

Qin Jiang quickly opened the back door, but Chen Shi waved his hand, knowing he couldn't treat Qin Jiang as a driver.

"I'll sit in the passenger seat."

Chen Shi opened the car door and saw two bottles of fine wine on the passenger seat.

Qin Jiang quickly stepped forward, took the wine, and put it in the trunk.

After getting into the car, Qin Jiang asked, "Director Chen, are we going to pick up Director Liu?"

"No need, Director Liu has a car, the driver will bring him here, we'll go pick up Secretary Huang."

Chen Shi called Huang Ming and said he would come pick him up. Huang Ming exchanged a few polite words and hung up.

When we arrived at the residential area where Huang Ming lived, Huang Ming was already waiting at the entrance.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Chen Shi quickly got out and opened the car door.

"Secretary Huang, I've kept you waiting. Get in the car quickly."

"I just came down from home too."

"Secretary Huang" Qin Jiang also got out of the car and greeted him with a smile.

Huang Ming, the "Qin Director," responded politely to Qin Jiang's greeting.

Chen Shi accompanied Huang Ming, sitting in the back row.

"Secretary Huang, is Liu County located in the county seat?"

"He's not here. He went to Minnesota early this morning and won't be back until Monday."

The fact that Huang Ming wasn't taken along suggests that it was a private matter and they didn't want others to know.

Chen Shi had originally planned to visit Liu County the next day, but he had to abandon that idea.

When the car arrived at the courtyard, it was already filled with many luxury cars.

Chen Shi got out of the car and was about to open the car door for Huang Ming, but Huang Ming beat him to it and got out himself.

He dared not treat Chen Shi as a subordinate, as Chen Shi's future career was very likely to surpass his own, which was one of the reasons he helped Chen Shi.

Qin Jiang followed him down, checked the time—6:40—and knew he couldn't let Huang Ming and Chen Shi wait for Liu Changchun outside.

"Secretary Huang, Director Chen, please come in. I've reserved a private room."

Huang Ming smiled and said, "Let's wait for Director Liu."

Qin Jiang quickly said, "Secretary Huang, you and Director Chen go into the private room first. I'll wait here for Director Liu."

Liu Changchun's influence was not enough to make Huang Ming wait outside.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Secretary Huang, let's go in first and have Director Qin wait for Director Liu outside."

Huang Ming was just being polite and walked inside with Chen Shi.

Chen Shi gave Qin Jiang a look, meaning, "I'm giving you this opportunity; make the most of it."

Liu Changchun dared not neglect the dinner party that Huang Ming attended, and arrived at Xiaoyuan Renjia at 6:50.

When Qin Jiang saw Liu Changchun's car stop, he jogged up, opened the door, and said with a smile, "Director Liu."

Liu Changchun got out of the car and, not seeing Huang Ming and Chen Shi, asked, "Hasn't Secretary Huang arrived yet?"

"They're here. I'll let them in first."

Liu Changchun hurried inside; he dared not keep Huang Ming waiting for him.

Qin Jiang quickly followed and arrived at the private room.

Huang Ming and Chen Shi were chatting when Liu Changchun came in, and the two of them stood up.

Liu Changchun stepped forward, shook Huang Ming's hand, and said with a smile, "Secretary Huang, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Director Liu, you're too kind. We just sat down ourselves."

Huang Ming looked at Chen Shi: "Director Liu, let me introduce you. This is Chief Chen of Fushan Town Police Station."

Chen Shi stepped forward, shook Liu Changchun's hand, and said with a smile, "Director Liu, hello, I am Chen Shi."

"I've heard so much about you before. You're young and promising, even younger than I imagined."

After exchanging a few polite words, Liu Changchun offered Huang Ming the seat of honor, but Huang Ming firmly refused and insisted that Liu Changchun take the seat of honor instead.

Huang Ming sat to Liu Changchun's left, Qin Jiang asked Chen Shi to sit to his right, and Chen Shi told him to sit to his right. "This dinner is for you. Don't stray too far from the leader."

Chen Shi sat next to Huang Ming.

Qin Jiang quickly poured tea for the group, then remembered that the wine hadn't been brought in yet, so he hurried out to get it.

He brought in the wine, and the dishes were arranged in advance. The dishes were served on time. He had inquired about the tastes beforehand. Director Liu didn't eat spicy food, so he asked Chen Shi. Huang Ming also didn't eat spicy food, so Chen Shi told him to order all non-spicy dishes.

Qin Jiang opened the wine and poured wine for the three of them.

At the dinner table, amidst clinking glasses and the full meal, Huang Ming asked, "Director Qin, where are you from?"

"Secretary Huang, my family is from the county town."

"Are your family all in the county town?"

"They're all here. My parents are old, my child is in elementary school, and my wife is all alone. She has to take care of my parents and my child. I live too far away, so I can only come up on weekends to help take care of them."

"Doesn't your wife go to work?"

"She works at the county government and had the opportunity to be promoted to deputy section chief, but she was too busy and had to take care of her family, so she gave it up."

Chen Shi looked at Huang Ming gratefully. Huang Ming was a man with high emotional intelligence to be able to serve as the county magistrate's liaison officer. He knew that he was not important enough, so it was most appropriate for him to ask Qin Jiang on his behalf.

The two were not familiar with each other and did not know Qin Jiang's family situation. With a casual question, Qin Jiang could find an opportunity to complain to Liu Changchun.

Complaining isn't easy. If you can't find a suitable opportunity and insist on complaining to your boss, they'll just treat you like a broken record, or even find you disgusting and repulsive.

"Fushan Town is 80 kilometers away from the county seat, all along provincial highways. It's quite tiring to travel back and forth like that," Chen Shi added appropriately.

"Everywhere I go is work, but I can't take care of my family. I feel like I owe my wife and children too much."

He clearly wanted to be transferred back to the county town, but he couldn't say it and had to act nonchalant.

You can't let your boss feel that you're complaining about him.

Liu Changchun may disregard Chen Shi's feelings, but he still has to give Huang Ming face.

He was also in a dilemma, as there were no leadership positions available for Qin Jiang in the bureau, and he would have to wait for a suitable opportunity.

He cleared his throat lightly and said, "Chief Qin, I only just found out about your situation. If you have any difficulties, you should report them to the bureau in time. As you can see, all the leadership positions in the bureau are currently full. When a suitable opportunity arises, the bureau will give it careful consideration."

"Your words are enough," Qin Jiang quickly said. "Thank you for your concern, Director Liu. You are so busy, I wouldn't dare bother you with such a small matter."

Qin Jiang cursed inwardly, "You old bastard, I asked you for help and you completely ignored me."

Leaders are all masters of playing dumb.